2023-12-15 14:13:00
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro shook hands with Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali during a meeting in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Photo: AFP – MARCELO GARCIA
The presidents of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and Guyana, Irfaan Ali, met this Thursday in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to discuss the dispute over Essequibo, a territory of regarding 160,000 kilometers rich in oil. There, the leaders agreed to comply with 11 points in what follows for the parties.
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With the participation of the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and pro-tempore president of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac), Ralph E. Gonsalves; the Prime Minister of Dominica and President of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), Roosevelt Skerrit; and Celso Amorim, the special envoy of the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the leaders participated in a conversation that sought to lower tensions between the parties. Leaders of the Caribbean States of the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago were also present.
It was attended by the Chief of Staff of the Office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Earle Courtenay Rattray, and the Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs of the United Nations, Miroslav Jenca, as observers. .
The consultative referendum in Venezuela on the annexation of Essequibo led Maduro to announce that he would make administrative decisions to annex the territory, escalating tension between the parties. The situation generated concern for the UN, the International Court of Justice and Latin American leaders, with Lula being one of the most interested in ensuring that the dispute does not become complicated.
What were the agreements?
The governments of Venezuela and Guyana agreed to 11 points, with which they “reiterated their commitment that Latin America and the Caribbean continue to be a Zone of Peace.”
The first point establishes that neither party will threaten the other, nor use force “under any circumstances.” Hand in hand with this, they agreed that “any dispute between the two States will be resolved in accordance with international law, including the Geneva Agreement of February 17, 1966,” an international treaty signed by Venezuelan and United Kingdom plenipotentiaries, which recognizes “that there is a pending territorial dispute over Guayana Esequiba,” according to the Venezuelan government.
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Likewise, both States will refrain from “intensifying any conflict or disagreement” arising from the dispute and “will cooperate to avoid incidents on the ground that lead to tensions.” If something were to happen, it is established that the parties will have to communicate with each other, as well as with Caricom, Celac and the Brazilian president, in order to “contain it, reverse it and prevent it from happening once more.”
The agreements also establish that the interlocutors of Thursday’s meeting will remain, even when they have to abandon their positions as pro-tempore president of Celac, in the case of Gonsalves, and as president of Caricom, in the case of Skerrit. Likewise, the Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres, will continue as an observer.
Another important point relates to Guyana’s commitment to the “process and procedures of the International Court of Justice for the resolution of the border dispute.” In response to this, Venezuela affirmed “its lack of consent and lack of recognition” of the body and its jurisdiction on this issue.
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With a view to maintaining a peaceful relationship, they agreed to “continue dialogue on any other pending matter of mutual importance” and to “immediately establish a joint commission of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and technicians of the two States,” which will provide an update in three months. jointly with the two leaders. The next meeting between the leaders will be in Brazil, with a period of three months to “consider any matter with implications for the disputed territory.”
The leaders thanked those who were present at the meeting for “their respective roles in the success of this meeting.” In a special way, to the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for having facilitated the meeting.
After the meeting, Nicolás Maduro reiterated his gratitude to Irfaan Ali for “his frankness and willingness to engage in broad dialogue on all the issues addressed, directly.” He stated that he was satisfied with the result of the meeting and added that “always [ha] status and [estará] in favor of respectful dialogue to fulfill the sacred mandate” of the Venezuelan people.
For his part, Irfaan Ali thanked the technical team, as well as state actors, lawyers, national, regional and international diplomatic experts who supported Guyana at the meeting.
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